Seeking durable luggage for family travel? Look no further than Eagle Creek. This company of travelers and innovators has been perfecting luggage and duffels to improve the travel experience since 1975. Their stuff is made to withstand a beating and even comes with a lifetime warranty. Whether flying overseas, embarking on a road trip with kids, or heading to a campsite, you know Eagle Creek will get your family's belongings to your destination safe and sound. I took their wheeled Expanse Drop Bottom Duffel and Expanse Flatbed for a spin. Read on for my full Eagle Creek Expanse review. Plus, enter our giveaway for a chance to win your own Eagle Creek Expanse bags!
Eagle Creek's Expanse Line
Eagle Creek‘s Drop Bottom Duffel and Flatbed are duffel bag/suitcases that are part of their Expanse line. Both are equipped with sturdy treaded wheels to help you navigate over rough terrain. This means easy steering, whether you're an outdoorsy family or you'll be rambling over cobblestones in European cities. These roomy bags can stow all sorts of family gear. Plus, they come with external lash points for securing bags to the car rooftop for extra space on family road trips.
The Eagle Creek Expanse Drop Bottom Duffel and Flatbed easily fit into the back of my messy minivan along with my daughter and dog! (Photo credit: Colleen Lanin)
Eagle Creek Expanse Drop Bottom Duffel
The Drop Bottom Duffel's namesake feature, the Drop Bottom compartment, provides a zip-away divider to separate camping gear from clothing. You could also use this zipped area to separate dirty and clean clothing during any type of travel. Additionally, the Drop Bottom's sturdy duffel handle makes it easy to carry over terrain not suitable for wheels. The Drop Bottom Duffel comes in one roomy size: 14 x 32 x 16 inches and weighs in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces. You can really cram a lot of travel gear and other goodies into this baby.
Eagle Creek's Drop Bottom Duffel boasts a roomy compartment for camping gear, dirty clothing or teddy bears (Photo credit: Colleen Lanin)
Eagle Creek Expanse Flatbed
Similar to the Drop Bottom Duffel, the Flatbed offers a separate compartment, but it's much smaller. The Flatbed is more of a standard and sturdy suitcase that can be used as a duffel. Like the Drop Bottom, it's got duffel handles on four sides, making it easy to load in and out of the car. It comes in two sizes, both with plenty of room to store your family's stuff. Choose the 32-inch (16 x 32 x 12.25 inches; 9 pounds, 4 ounces) or 29-inch (16 x 29 x 12 inches; 8 pounds 14 ounces).
The Eagle Creek Expanse Flatbed stands up on its wheels but also has duffel handles on four sides (Photo credit: Colleen Lanin)
Drop Bottom Duffel vs. Flatbed
If you're trying to decide between the two pieces of luggage for family travel, I can provide a little insight. For travelers planning to use the bag for frequent camping trips, I'd say the Drop Bottom should be your pick. Meanwhile, the Expanse Flatbed stands up on its own and therefore would be my pick for flights. For road trips, it's a toss up. Eagle Creek's Drop Bottom Duffel and Flatbed are versatile and can be used for any kind of travel, really. Why not get both?
Visit Eagle Creek's website now to see all of their innovative luggage and travel gear.
Eagle Creek Expanse Drop Bottom Duffel on left and Flatbed on right (Photo credit: Colleen Lanin)
Eagle Creek Expanse Giveaway
Enter to win both of these pieces of Eagle Creek Expanse luggage for family travel using the Rafflecopter form below. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents ages 18+ only. No purchase is necessary. Read additional terms and conditions.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
About Colleen Lanin, The Travel Mama
all of the above!!!
We have some air travel planned later this year, and we might try to squeeze in a road trip to the beach later this summer.
We do a lot of camping in the summer. The kids also go to grandma’s which is a 3 hour road trip! This would be perfect for both.
Probably both camping and road trips. Hopefully we’ll get to get some miles in this summer.
A little bit of everything. Air travel; car trips; fishing trips; long weekend getaways.
Road trips and hopefully camping. Don’t fly very much.
definitely would use it on my annual family camping trip, as well as when my family goes up to the camper during the summer
I would use it most for camping!
These would be perfect for both road trips and camping – love it!
I would use these every time that we travel! I would also use them for camping this Summer! 🙂
Would use mostly for road trips.
I would use them mostly for road trips and visiting family.
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
These are so nice! I would use them for road trips!
Will use them for several things but mostly road trips
Roadtrips!!
I would use them for road trips!
EVERYTHING I HAVE nothing this nice!!
I would say tie between road trips and camping
I would probably use them most for road trips.
I would use these for a couple Oregon road trips we have planned.
I would use the luggage for road trips. We live 3-4 hours away from Key West and 3 hours away from Orlando.
I will use these for a combination of road and air travel trips.
While mentally packing for an air trip coming up soon, my husband and I realized that we don’t have enough suitcases for all 5 family members. We’ve never all been on a plane at the same time. Ooops! When we camp, each family members is allowed 1 rubbermaid for packing. I don’t think rubbermaids will cut it this time. 🙂
I would use them for roadtrips.
These would be used for road trips
We like to road trip, so we’d use them on road trips
I would use them the most for road trips.
I would use them for road trips and air travel. I just love that they are expandable.
All of it! But the most use would come out of road trips. We love taking off and traveling to parts we have not yet visited.
I would use them for road trips we have coming up.
I will probably use it most for air travel.